The Best Gift Is Yourself
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: Title says it all. Read on!


**A Christmas story request for Sparkling Lover. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! Samantha and her mother belong to Sparkling Lover, and Transformers belongs to Hasbro. The Harlem Globe Trotters logo belongs to the Harlem Globe Trotters. I own nothing.**

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><p><strong>The Best Gift Is Yourself<strong>

Samantha scurried around the store, keeping in sight of her mother as she looked around at the various gifts displayed. She was having a bit of a hard time finding a present for Optimus and she wanted to give him something special because he was her surrogate father. She kept looking until she saw a basketball with the famous Harlem Globe Trotters logo on it and smiled, remembering how much Optimus loved basketball. "Mommy, can we get this for him?" she asked her mother, who smiled at her.

"Yes, we can," she said. "Come, we should get going before we miss the party and the gift exchange.

Thankfully, they made it to the Ark and Samantha placed her wrapped gift in the pile of presents everyone brought. The large pile was almost as high as the ceiling. Smiling, the little girl looked over and saw Spike and Bumblebee sitting near the television and went over. "Hey, guys, whatcha gonna watch?" she asked.

"Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," said Spike. "Want to join us?"

"Sure!" she said and was going to sit down next to Bumblebee, but the yellow Autobot surprised her by scooping her and Spike up into his lap.

"How's this for the best seats in the house?" asked Bumblebee.

"Great, thanks, Bee," said Spike.

Samantha giggled. "Awesome!" she said as the movie came on and they watched it.

After the movie, the small girl decided to go check on the gift pile and see how big it was, considering there was quite a few Autobots on the Ark. She heard chomping sounds as she got closer and looked around, noticing her gift to Optimus was missing.

She went around the pile and stopped, her small face filling with shock and sadness as she saw Grimlock was eating her gift to Optimus, to her dismay. Tears began to fill her eyes and she moved away from the gift pile and started running to where her quarters were on the ship. Ironhide and Jazz were headed to the rec room when they heard small footsteps and looked down to see Samantha run past them, tears running down her face. "Samantha, what's wrong?" asked Jazz worriedly.

"What happened, kiddo?" asked Ironhide, just as worried, but Samantha kept running and didn't look back. The two Autobots looked at each other and then saw Grimlock being led away from the gift pile where they saw he had knocked down some of the gifts and there was wrapping paper hanging from his mouth, giving them a good clue as to what happened and as to why Samantha looked upset. They silently moved to where Optimus stood.

"Prime, we just saw Samantha running to the quarters area and she looked very upset," said Jazz.

"I think I know why," said Optimus. "Samantha's mother told me that the little one's gift is missing from the gift pile. My guess is Grimlock was hungry and thought the gifts were food."

"That Dinobot's brain needs an upgrade," said Ironhide with a growl before taking a deep breath. "But right now, I think Samantha needs you."

Optimus nodded and went to go find the little girl who was his surrogate daughter.

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><p>Samantha had made it to her room and was crying harshly, feeling terrible that she had nothing for Optimus. A fresh batch of tears began to fill her eyes when she heard knocking on the door. "Samantha, it's me," said Optimus. "May I come in, little one?"<p>

Sniffling, she sat up on her bed. "Come in," she said, her voice small. The large Autobot stepped inside and saw her on her bed, looking sad.

"Is something wrong, little one?" he asked, not liking to see his little girl crying, especially when it was Christmastime.

Samantha took a moment to get her thoughts together. "Yes," she said. "I had a very special gift for you that I had picked out for you, because I wanted to show you how grateful I am for all you've done for me over the years, especially becoming my surrogate father and best friend."

Tears began to fill her eyes again and she couldn't hold back her sobs. "But now, Grimlock ate my gift to you and I have nothing to give you," she said sadly, crying again and falling face down in her pillow.

Optimus was touched that Samantha wanted to give him something for Christmas, but saw how sad she was that she didn't have anything to give him. What she didn't realize was that he already had his gift and he now kneeled beside her bed, using one finger to gently rub the small girl's back in comfort, which helped the little girl a bit.

"Samantha, I'm touched that you think of me so highly, little one. But there is something much better than any physical gift in the world, something that makes me happy all the time and I get to enjoy it every day," he said.

Curious, Samantha looked up at him. "What is it?" she asked him.

"Something you've already given me," he said with a smile on his visible faceplates. "You."

She looked confused. "I don't understand," she admitted.

Optimus picked her up and held her in his palm. "Samantha, just as you love me as your surrogate father, I love you must as much. You bring happiness to me and the others every day with your lively spirit and your laughter."

To prove that point, Optimus gently tickled the little girl's stomach with one finger, making her giggle cutely and laugh a bit before he stopped and she curled up to protect her stomach from another tickle attack. Optimus chuckled and continued speaking. "Samantha, the gift I wanted most for Christmas is right here in my hand now," he said. "And I couldn't ask for a better gift in the whole world."

"I'm your Christmas gift?" she asked, the thought making her smile. "And you didn't have to buy me."

Optimus let out a hearty chuckle at the little girl's joke and tickled her stomach a bit more to make her laugh. "Feeling better, little one?" he asked.

"Much better," she said and hugged his hand. "Thanks, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too, my daughter," he said, fatherly affection in his voice as he kissed her affectionately on the forehead, carrying her out to the rec room where the gift exchange began.

After a few of the bots and humans had exchanged their gifts, Optimus lifted one small present from the pile and gave it to Samantha. "Merry Christmas, Samantha," he said with a smile.

"Thank you, Daddy," she said and opened her gift. It was a necklace with the Autobot insignia proudly hanging from it. Samantha immediately put it on and smiled. "Now I'm a real Autobot!" she proclaimed happily, making the others laugh in amusement as she then hugged Optimus, thanking him again.

"Alert, Autobots," said Teletraan-1, although he didn't sound urgent, only informative. "Snow has begun to fall outside."

Everyone immediately headed out, wanting to see the rare occurrence of snow in the desert and sure enough, the ground was already covered in thick snow and more was falling.

Samantha felt so happy that right then, she began singing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", her small voice sounding lively as she sang. The others began joining in and soon, they were like a choir, their voices blending in harmony.

And above it all, a very bright star was shining above them, shining brighter than any of the stars in the beautiful evening sky.

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><p><strong>Christmas is one of the best times of the year. Don't you agree?<br>**

**Please leave a review, but no flames!**

**GoldGuardian2418**


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